Professors at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus Go on Strike

When hungover students show up to sleep through their afternoon classes today at Long Island University, they might be snoozing without the contemptuous stare of a professor. WNYC reports that hundreds of professors at LIU’s Brooklyn campus are going on strike today, citing a contract that doesn’t guarantee any kind of wage increases for the first three of five years.

The university characterizes the battle as one between funneling the university’s “scarce resources” towards faculty or student scholarships. The faculty contends that too many funds are directed toward administration personnel. Either way, these are tough times for universities. Students and faculty are squeezed alike.

If you can’t muster any sympathy for a full-time professor going on strike you suck, at least take some time to read about the plight of the adjunct professor. A bulk of the teaching workload at many universities falls upon the shoulders of underpaid, overworked professors without health insurance and little shot at the ever-shrinking number of tenured positions available. It’s an especially strange and sad system for those folks.

One Comment

Their c. W. post campus is also on strike. Unbelievable. Right after students have already paid tuition, but before providing them with classes? You can’t blame faculty- they are making less than public high school teachers while the president gets a free mansion to live in and makes 400 grand.